Women's Cross Country | 11/26/2025 1:00:00 PM

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Washington & Jefferson College senior Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown) has been named the 2025 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Mid-Atlantic Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year, announced by the organization Tuesday (Nov. 25).
 
Last season, Anderson became the first runner in cross country history at W&J to be named a USTFCCCA Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year. She now becomes the first W&J cross country runner to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Anderson also earned All-Region honors for the third consecutive season.

Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.

Anderson was recently named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Runner of the Year. She was unanimously voted for by the 12 head coaches of the conference following the completion of the cross country seasons.
 
That marked the second time Anderson has earned the conference's top women's runner award, as she was also recognized in 2023 after winning the PAC Championship as a sophomore. She is the first W&J women's runner and eighth female in PAC history to earn multiple conference Runner of the Year laurels. Anderson capped her brilliant career at W&J this past Saturday when she finished third at NCAA Championships with a time of 21:13.4.
 
The third-place finish by Anderson is believed to be the highest by any PAC women's runner in conference history. After placing 23rd a year ago to earn her first All-America award, she is also just the second PAC women's runner to be a two-time All-American, joining Elisa Pederson from Grove City College, who was a two-time honoree as well in 2004 and 2005.
 
Saturday's performance was just the latest accolade in Anderson's senior year and career. She was a four-time PAC Runner of the Week through the regular season, which was highlighted by wins at the Dickinson Invitational and Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble and a sixth place at the Louisville Cross Country Classic.
 
Then in the PAC Championships at Allegheny College Nov. 1st, Anderson earned her third career First Team All-PAC distinction when she placed fourth overall. As the top W&J runner to cross, she helped the Presidents to their first PAC team championship in women's cross country in program history.
 
Two weeks later at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, Anderson punched her ticket to the national championship meet by placing third with a time of 21:33.62. It was the third All-Region performance in her career, as Anderson placed 10th as a sophomore in 2023 and was the Mid-Atlantic Regional champion, the first-ever won by a W&J women's runner, last fall.
 
Saving her best for last, Anderson moved up 20 spots from 2024 to take third this fall at nationals. Anderson used a stellar finishing kick to jump several spots late in the race, moving up from seventh to third place in the final 1000 meters. In addition to becoming the first two-time All-American in W&J history, Anderson's finish at NCAAs this season bested the previous top showing in Presidents' cross country program history, which was held by Kristen Galligan from the 2012 season (12th place, 21:27.40).